Johnson, Failing The American composer Tom Johnson (b. 1939) describes himself as a minimalist. The term was first applied to the music of Steve Reich, Philip Glass and others in the 1960s denoting music that used limited resources or materials and that tended to be … Read more
In a related guest post for Professor Carol several weeks ago, we shared our family’s experience exploring the arts through opera: Starting Small: Opera. This week we focus on the world of ballet. If ever we needed something lovely in our lives, now is the … Read more
Dowland, Flow My Tears Flow My Tears has a prominent place in our Discovering Music course. Despite the often sad, even morose, themes of Dowland’s songs, they have an immediate appeal. Maybe it’s the melancholy that attracts young listeners who tend to believe that their … Read more
“Mrs. . . Mrs. . . , uh, . . . our girl guest!” This was the answer five-year old grandson Charlie spurted out when I asked who had given him the nifty ratchet set. His answer tickled me. It was resourceful, plus I knew … Read more
Vasks, Evening Music Pēteris Vasks is a contemporary Latvian composer born in 1946. His compositions have attracted increasing attention around the globe, and he has a good claim to being the most prominent composer from the Baltics. Vasks points to his Baptist roots, somewhat unusual … Read more
The content for this week’s Music for Autumn webinar took some surprising turns. How easy it was back in June to craft the first one of the series entitled Music for Summer. I expect the same ease will prevail for the final sessions: Music for … Read more
Froberger, Allemande from Suite XIX Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) was the pre-eminent German composer of keyboard music in the mid 17th century. Few details are known about his biography, however. His father was Kapellmeister in Stuttgart, and Froberger presumably received his training there. He went … Read more
The grandkids were transfixed watching our friend Allan pile mortar onto new bricks as he transformed a line of collapsed bricks into a rustic footer for a new wall. This wall will be one of two needed to enclose the space below our sunporch, turning … Read more
Zemlinsky, Waldgespräch “It is already late, already cold,” says the knight to a lady riding alone through the woods. He will save her and guide her home. She is broken-hearted and riding after the sound of the hunting horn. “Flee,” she tells the knight. “You … Read more
Whenever those of us in education think of young children, we consider the multitude of possibilities for influence in every arena of their lives. So when asked to contribute a guest article for my friend Carol, I asked my daughter Michelle, “Where would you start?” … Read more